Kamigawa Plane
Hello!
This is my first attempt at cubing, and I have decided to do it with my favourite block flavour-wise: KAMIGAWA!
I decided to stick to a quasi-singleton format, with a few exceptions between commons and uncommons. The ratio of rarities is such that packs would contain 3 rares/mythics, 5 uncommons and 7 commons each.
Being pre-Ravnica, the original Kamigawa block lacked a lot of multicoloured cards, but I tried to make sure that there is versatility in colour-matching when drafting and building a deck.
Here, I'll try to delineate what each colour can do and what are the main draftable stategies.
Note: THIS IS WORK IN PROGRESS, any feedback is much appreciated. Please be aware that I'm adamant about one thing: cards in the cube must be from Kamigawa sets or VERY eastern-flavoured.
- White is a very Samurai-centered colour. You can draft it on its own and make use of equipments and vehicles to gain an edge upon opponents. Flood the board with powerful Samurais and have them Charge across the Araba, or let Konda, Lord of Eiganjo voltron/lead you to victory.
- The Samurai-theme can be expanded with Red cards, Black cards or both. Red in particular can bolster the aggro spirit of Samurais, while Black can be used to insert control and recursion elements. Isshin, Two Heavens as One can be the star of your deck if you choose to go , and it can be a real threat for your opponents.
- Cards like Sensei Golden-Tail can transform any creature into a Samurai and strongly sinergize either with Green and Blue token generators, or with the "Modified" mechanic you can find in Red and Green.
- Blue is very hard to draft in mono-, but it is a great partner colour, full of topdeck manipulation, control elements and drawing power. This can be exploited in a few different ways in combination with other colours. For instance, in , hand-size can be used to power up Soramaro, First to Dream, Kiyomaro, First to Stand and Kagemaro, First to Suffer. Secretkeeper and Presence of the Wise can help you further benefit from having a sizable hand, while Jushi Apprentice and Exile into Darkness can help you mill and disarm your opponent.
- Green can be a great partner colour, thanks to land-ramp cards helping to fuel the Moonfolk department (like Meloku, the Clouded Mirror or Soratami Savant. Seed the Land, Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant can give a meaning to all the lands that are going to sit in your hand. Snakes and Myojin of Towering Might can be a great output for this value engine.
- Embrace modernity and explore the tiny artifacts theme. Let Covert Technician, Replication Specialist and Prosperous Thief help you fill your board with artifacts, then either exploit them or use red and black sacrificial outlets to get rid of the ones you don't like too much.
- Hand attack is the way to go for Black in this Cube. Make your opponents discard and benefit from their permanents going to the graveyard thanks to Patron of the Nezumi and The Long Reach of Night. Reduce their handsize with Gnat Miser and Locust Miser and slowly kill them with Death of a Thousand Stings, or maybe enlist blue shrines like Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom to also attack their decks. Time is on your side, you have plenty of removals to choose from!
- NINJAS! Black Ninjas can be real heavy hitters, like Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni, but they would be nothing without blue evasive creatures, and colleagues such as Walker of Secret Ways and Higure, the Still Wind. Is that all? Of course not. [[Satoru Umezawa] can ninjify basically anything. What can a Ninja-Shisato, Whispering Hunter do to your opponent will to fight? What about a Ninja-Akki Underminer?
- Also your graveyard can matter! Black and green are the colours of recursion and life. Spirits thrive in these colours, they come and go to and from your graveyard, thanks to Iname, Death Aspect, Iname, Life Aspect and the soulshift ability.
- It will not be easy, but you can use the land ramp spells you find in green to go...
Shrines are a really powerful mechanic, if you can manage to put your hands on enough of them. To be honest, you should put your hands on as many as you can, unless you really want to face them on the opposite side of the board!
Damn. This is great.